Hawks ace WIAC final

While UW-Whitewater graduation exercises were taking place in the nearby DLK Field House, the UW-Whitewater baseball team was busy taking one more final test. The classroom - James B. Miller Stadium. The course - the 2010 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament.

The Warhawks aced the final by defeating archrival UW-Stevens Point 5-3 and 6-2 to capture the WIAC postseason tournament and earn the WIAC’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament that will open on Wednesday.

Great pitching, timely hitting and solid defense was the recipe for capturing UWW’s first WIAC postseason tournament crown since back-to-back victories in 2003 and 2004.

Jason Hooper scattered seven hits in seven-and-a-third innings in game one in the Hawks 5-3 come-from-behind win to force game-two on “championship Saturday.” Trailing 2-1 entering the 8th inning the Hawks pushed four runs across the plate to take a 5-2 advantage. Point would score one in the bottom of the inning. Ben Versnik, who relieved Hooper with one out in the eighth did not give up a hit while getting the Pointers to go in order in the nail down his seventh save of the season.

Jeff Donovan followed Hooper’s pitching gem with one of his own in game-two. The Hawks jumped out to an 3-0 lead after two innings while Donovan was keeping the Pointer’s prolific offense off-balance for much of the game. Donovan goes eight-an-a-third innings giving up just seven hits before giving way to Riley Tincher. Just 24 hours after losing his first game after 11 consecutive wins this season, Tincher got the final two batters to record his first save of the season..

The Warhawks will take a 38 & 5 record into Midwest Regional action next Wednesday at James B. Miller Stadium.

Stevens Point falls to 29 & 15 and are “on the bubble” for a pool-C at-large bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Bids will be announced by the NCAA on Monday morning.

Much more on today’s Hawk title will be coming up later this evening.